Date: Thu, 8 May 2003 18:51:41 -0500 From: Mark Linimon <linimon@lonesome.com> To: freebsd-doc@freebsd.org Subject: RFC: additions to the article "problem-reports" Message-ID: <200305081851.41118.linimon@lonesome.com>
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While working on my project to classify ports PRs in the database,
I've come across more than my fair share of PRs that are really
badly written. Although the problem-reports article touches on
this to some degree, I really feel that some of the most obvious
mistakes bear further explanation.
So here's a rough draft of a new section "Tips and tricks for writing
a good Problem Report" to be applied to
/usr/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/problem-reports/article.sgml.
A few things to note first:
1. I've never written SGML before, and I haven't verified this
text's correctness. (Maybe someday I'll learn how to do that,
but right now I am in the middle of this other hackathon, see ... :-) )
2. I've never written this large a chunk of FreeBSD documentation
before, so I won't be offended if either the style is found wanting,
or, in this case, my choice of where to put the changes. (No place
seemed exactly correct.)
In any case I think this is a necessary, but probably insufficient,
change for the documentation, and I'd like to see what other
people think. Consider it a starting point.
Mark Linimon (aka "mcl")
--- article.sgml.dist Thu May 8 17:16:29 2003
+++ article.sgml Thu May 8 18:44:42 2003
@@ -187,10 +187,128 @@
<para>Now that you have decided that your issue merits a problem
report, and that it is a FreeBSD problem, it is time to write
- the actual problem report. Make sure your <envar>VISUAL</envar>
+ the actual problem report. Before we get into the mechanics
+ of the program used to generate and submit PRs, here are some
+ tips and tricks to help make sure that your PR will be most
+ effective.</para>
+
+ <section>
+ <title>Tips and tricks for writing a good Problem Report</title>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Do not leave the Subject: line empty</emphasis>
+ The PRs go not just to a mailing list that goes all over
+ the world, but also into a database. Anyone who comes
+ along later and looks through the database, and finds
+ PRs with a blank subject line, tends to just skip over
+ them. Remember that PRs stay in this database until
+ they are closed by someone. An anonymous one will
+ usually just disappear in the noise.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Avoid using a weak Subject: line</emphasis>
+ You should not assume that anyone reading your PR has
+ any context for your submission: what part of the system
+ does the problem apply to? Do you only see the problem
+ while installing, or while running? So, instead of saying,
+ for instance, "Subject: portupgrade is broken", say,
+ "Subject: port sysutils/portupgrade coredumps on
+ -current". (In the case of ports, it is especially
+ helpful to have both the category and portname in
+ the Subject line.)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>If you have a patch, say so</emphasis>
+ A PR with a patch included is much more likely to be
+ looked at than one without. If you are including one,
+ put the string <literal>[patch]</literal> at the
+ beginning of the Subject. (Although it is not mandatory
+ to use that exact string, by convention, that is the one
+ that is used.)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>If you are a maintainer, say so</emphasis>
+ By convention, if you are maintaining a part of the
+ source code (for instance, a port), put the string
+ <literal>[maintainer update]</listeral> at the
+ beginning of your Subject: line.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Be specific</emphasis>
+ The more information you supply about what problem you
+ are having, the better your chance of getting a response.
+ You should include such things as what version you are
+ running (there is a place to put that, see below);
+ which architecture you are running on;
+ whether you are running from a release CDROM, or from
+ a system maintained by &cvsup.1; (and, if so, how
+ recently you updated); and, if a kernel problem,
+ if you have read <literal>src/UPDATING</literal>
+ (someone is guaranteed to ask). You do not necessarily
+ have to provide your kernel configuration, which ports
+ you have available, and a core dump (including these
+ by default only tends to fill up the database), but you
+ should be prepared to make them available, either
+ privately or publicly, if so asked.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Avoid vague requests for features</emphasis>
+ PRs of the form "someone should really implement something
+ that does so-and-so" are less likely to get results than
+ very specific requests. Remember, the source is available
+ to everyone, so if you want a feature, the best way to
+ ensure it being included is to get to work! Also consider
+ the fact that many things like this would make a better
+ topic for discussion on a mailing list (such as
+ <literal>freebsd-questions</literal>) than as an entry
+ in the PR database, as discussed above.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Make sure no one else has already submitted
+ a similar PR</emphasis>
+ Although this has already been mentioned above, it bears
+ repeating here. It only take a minute or two to use the
+ web-based search engine. (Of course, everyone is guilty of
+ forgetting to do this now and then.)
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Avoid controversial requests</emphasis>
+ If your PR addresses an area that has been controversial
+ in the past, you should probably be prepared to not only
+ offer patches, but also justification for why the patches
+ are The Right Thing To Do. As noted above, a careful
+ search of past mailing lists is always good preparation.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Be polite</emphasis>
+ Almost anyone who would potentially work on your PR is
+ a volunteer. No one likes to be told that they have to
+ do something when they are already doing it for some
+ motivation other than monetary gain. This is a good
+ thing to keep in mind at all times on Open Source
+ projects.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ </section>
+
+ <section>
+ <title>Before you begin</title>
+
+ <para>Before running the &man.send-pr.1; program,
+ make sure your <envar>VISUAL</envar>
(or <envar>EDITOR</envar> if <envar>VISUAL</envar> is not set)
- environment variable is set to something sensible, and run
- &man.send-pr.1;.</para>
+ environment variable is set to something sensible.</para>
+ </section>
<section>
<title>Attaching patches or files</title>
@@ -235,8 +353,9 @@
<section>
<title>Filling out the template</title>
- <para>The template consists of a list of fields, some of which
- are pre-filled, and some of which have comments explaining
+ <para>When you run &man.send-pr.1;, you are presented with a
+ template. The template consists of a list of fields, some of
+ which are pre-filled, and some of which have comments explaining
their purpose or listing acceptable values. Do not worry
about the comments; they will be removed automatically if you
do not modify them or remove them yourself.</para>
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